The present invention relates to a parallel-link table for supporting a subject and carrying the subject to an imaging region and a tomographic imaging apparatus.
In recent years, a table having an elevation mechanism of a parallel-link type is used in positioning a subject that horizontally lies in an imaging region of a tomographic imaging apparatus (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Since the table can be configured to have a smaller area occupied by the elevation mechanism portion, its appearance can be made very elegant, and the elevation mechanism portion can be manufactured at a relatively low cost.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H02-036098 (page 3, FIG. 2).
According to the conventional technique as described above, however, a top plate for supporting the subject moves in a longitudinal direction while moving up/down. Specifically, an upper structure or a base plate on which the top plate is placed is coupled to a platform over which these members are mounted via parallel links, and therefore, the top plate must move in the longitudinal direction as it moves up/down.
Especially when the subject is moved between a stretcher and tables a work position away from an image acquisition section of the tomographic imaging apparatus is preferable from the viewpoint of operation ease. However, the position of the top table is close to the image acquisition section when the conventional parallel-link table is fixed at a height approximately the same as the stretcher, which has been a cause of poor operation ease.
Thus, it is important to find a way to realize a parallel-link table and tomographic imaging apparatus in which the table is moved up/down without moving the position of the subject in the longitudinal direction.